Oil Discovery Made in US Gulf of Mexico

Kosmos Energy (NYSE, LSE: KOS) announced Tuesday an oil discovery in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at the Winterfell infrastructure-led exploration well.

The well, which is situated in approximately 5,300 feet of water and was drilled to a total depth of around 23,000 feet, was designed to test a sub-salt Upper Miocene prospect located in Green Canyon Block 944. It encountered approximately 85 feet of net oil pay in two intervals, Kosmos revealed.

The company said it will now work with its partners on an appraisal plan and development options. The find is said to be located within tie back distance to several existing and planned host facilities.

“We are pleased to have started the new year with exploration success at Winterfell validating our proven basin exploration strategy, which is focused on low cost, short cycle, low carbon development solutions,” Andrew G. Inglis, Kosmos Energy’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a company statement.

“The Winterfell well was funded by a portion of the proceeds from the partial sale of our frontier exploration portfolio. The well in Green Canyon Block 944 de-risks prospectivity in several neighboring blocks held by Kosmos, with approximately 100 million barrels of gross potential within Kosmos’ acreage position,” he added.

Kosmos has a 17.5 percent working interest in the Winterfell well. An affiliate of Beacon Offshore Energy LLC is operator of the well and additional interest owners include Red Willow Offshore LLC, Ridgewood Monarch North LLC, CSL Exploration, LP, CL&F Offshore LLC, Houston Energy, L.P., Beacon Offshore Energy Exploration LLC and Beacon Asset Holdings LLC.

The Gulf of Mexico area, both onshore and offshore, is one of the most important regions for energy resources and infrastructure, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) states on its website. Gulf of Mexico federal offshore oil production accounts for 17 percent of total U.S. crude oil production and federal offshore natural gas production in the Gulf accounts for five percent of total U.S. dry production, the EIA highlights.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com